Hellboy: The Witch Child
by The-Manga-Goddess
Summary: Hellboy meets and befriends a young woman while he was off-duty one night. As their friendship develops, she becomes the key of the ongoing investigation involving witchcraft and werewolves. He also gets the feeling that he's seen her before. Comic-verse. Hellboy/OC, hints of Abe/Liz.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note and Disclaimer: Hello readers and thank you for choosing to read my story: The Witch Child. Hellboy has been an awesome series and it was Ron Perlman portrayal of Hellboy that got me interested in the series and made me fell in love with the character Hellboy. **_

_**I also want to thank the author's and their works that have inspired me to write own: "In the Pale Moonlight", "Something Old, Something New", "A Failure to Communicate", "Betwixt the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by jelibeanne, "Need" by Ossiana of the B.P.R.D, "Hellboy: A Land of Wonder" by backbreakingmetal, "Finding Home" by psyche b. mused, "Brick and Ivy" by Cherry Fingertips, and so on. **_

_********__I do not own Hellboy or the characters and story belongs to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse (and some to Christopher Golden and Guillermo del Toro). The original characters and story plot do belong to me. _

_**Rating: M for violence, blood and gore, strong language, use of tobacco and alcohol, mention of drugs, sexual contact, and suggestive language. **_

* * *

_**Prologue:**_

_**October 30, 1997**_

_**Somewhere in New Mexico, 6:47 pm.**_

"I don't know about this Al…" Quincy said doubtfully to his friend next to him as they got out of his parent's 1966 Chevrolet Caprice and into a secluded wooded area.

"Quince, this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If what this guy's offering is true then our life will change for the better. Think of it Quince: Women will flock us like moths to a flame and we'll never have to fear of dying alone." Al said earnestly.

The two friends were true geeks at heart. They loved Sci-Fi movies like _Star Trek _and _Star Wars, _reading comics(even going to a comic-con, dressed up as their favorite superheroes), their bug collection, and astronomy. They were also built very differently: Quincy was a lanky young man with pale skin, freckles, and curly red hair, whilst Al was shorter than Quincy, husky (to put it nicely) with thick black glasses and acne scars on his face.

The young men also had another thing in common: they had rotten luck with attracting the opposite sex. What they wanted from a potential female companion was different from each other's: Quincy wanted love and Al wanted to make love. Quincy was a kind, sensitive, and intelligent young man who was a true romantic; he believed that those qualities are what a girl wants but every girl he's met ran into the arms of an amateur Arnold Schwarzenegger. As for Al, well Quincy believed that he's only interested in having sexual relationship.

"Yeah, I guess…" Quincy said passively, his mind still unsure about this whole ordeal. Quincy locked the doors of the vehicle and with Al's beckoning a 'come on', Quincy followed him.

Passing through the dark woods made Quincy remembered the times his father would take him to go camping and to hunt, fish, and learn about the wilderness; but, Quincy wasn't really interested in all that (except for finding cool bugs). He also wasn't interested in the sports his father tried to get him into; he wasn't as athletic as the boys he grew up with but Quincy didn't mind. What he did mind though was that he believed that his father would always see him as a disappointment.

Quincy's thoughts were put on halt when he bumped into Al. He then gazed on the surroundings he was previously oblivious to. They came across a clearing with many (dozens) men – which Quincy could tell were geeks: from pocket protectors to t-shirts with X-Men logos– and were gathered by a bonfire. Quincy recognized the clearing as a sacred ground for a local Navajo tribe. He knows this because he took a field trip here when he was younger and became fascinated by the Navajo's folklore and their mystical ways. He wondered if these men – including himself and Al – had permission to be here.

As he and Al got closer to the bonfire they saw a man dressed in a black shirt that emphasized his muscles, a _distinguished_ black coat with three tails, black pants and boots. There he stood on a large boulder with the moon behind him (Quincy also realized that tonight was the Hunter's Moon or the Blood Moon).

When Quincy met this fellow, Mr. Talbot he called himself, he would call him a modern Adonis: tall, dark, and handsome with his dark hair swept back, chiseled features, and muscular physique. Mr. Talbot eyes were an exotic feature which was a peculiar shade of brown; however the eyes were very unsettling for Quincy. Quincy could see how the girls would naturally swoon to him, even if they were already in a relationship with someone.

When Mr. Talbot approached the two young men, he offered them a way to obtain the similar gift he's been bestowed: the unlimited power similar to animal magnetism to which no female would resist them. At first Quincy thought it was too good to be true and then became skeptical the more he thought about it, but Al was all gung-ho from the get-go and put the pressure on Quincy and he went along with it

Now, Quincy looked at the men that were gathered at the bonfire – which reached so high, it was nearly leveled with Mr. Talbot – and wondered if Mr. Talbot had promised them the same thing.

_Is it really possible for this Mr. Talbot to offer such a gift? I mean it sounds like a godsend but it has to come with a price because this is too good to be true._ Quincy pondered but then he noticed that he must have been zoned out because Mr. Talbot had already been speaking.

"…And now gentlemen, you too can possess this power of what you had always desired!" Mr. Talbot finished passionately and suavely.

The men started to applaud but Mr. Talbot held out his hands as a gesture to stop and that he was not done talking, his tone became solemn and calm,

"Now gaze into the fire and repeat my chant. Keep chanting with passion after passion and then let yourself be lost in the fire."

He then chanted in an unknown language and the men repeated it and followed his instructions; they repeated the chant, passion after passion, their eyes never left the fire. Quincy was lost for a bit in the beginning but Al nudged him a little and followed others, though with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As Quincy and the others chanted, the fire suddenly became black and then it moved and swayed as if it was alive. It then spewed into the night sky and swirled around the blood moon. When the men stopped chanting, the black fire from the sky started to split – first one by one, then two by two, then four by four, and so on – and then started to take form of some sort of animal entity with red eyes.

And in a blink of an eye, it entered the men's bodies.

Quincy felt a pain that he never felt before; it was like his entire body was being burned but he wasn't really on fire. He collapsed on the ground shaking in pain and screamed – at least he thought he was he couldn't tell – bloody murder.

After what seemed like hours, the pain stopped and he slowly tried to get up. As he collected his bearings, the men he saw were completely different: no longer were wearing glasses and the ones that had hair loss had full and thick hair; their shirts were torn up but revealed a muscular physique with a full six-pack. He saw the men ecstatic and touching their newly formed body.

Seeing that, Quincy couldn't resist looking over his newly formed body and started feeling himself. He, like the others, had a muscular body and arms with a six-pack, and felt his facial features were chiseled and strong. He forgot his previous worries and he was overjoyed.

When he was done looking – more like feeling – himself over, Quincy looked up and saw Mr. Talbot's sinister expression and his face fell.

And then his world went black…

* * *

'Mr. Talbot' gazed upon his new servants, the poor fools didn't even realize that were being used. He watched the men admiring their newly developed bodies and then they screamed in pain and turned into what he wanted them to become.

Werewolves…

The now black-furred, demonic werewolves focused their blood-red eyes on the blood moon and unleashed a howl too unreal to be a wolf's. As they howled, he could feel his own beast begging – clawing as he put it – to come out and join them. He struggles as he's conflicted within himself.

_Not now! You will get your chance soon but now is not the time. There's still things need to be done… _

Fortunately the deep sound of an old crone distracted his inner demon, "We had provided what you required now you must do ours…"

"Of course…" He said suavely and appeared unaffected of his inner conflicts before two shriveled old crones that wore black cloaks with a symbol of three moons – waxing crescent, full moon, and waning crescent in that order – and a very dull shade of violet eyes.

"Do not worry; the child will be my next priority and your sisters will return to this world, but please be patient. Remember you must keep your end of the bargain."

"We will do as we were sworn; we will help you bring about your Lord–" said one crone, "–but you must not interfere with our plans boy, or else you'll have the devil to pay!" the other crone finished in exclaim.

"I would never dream!" He said with his body language showing slight flamboyance, "Why would I betray the ones that helped gain this power…" His tone became slightly more serious.

"I was always taught that a man never goes back on their word, and…" He looked at them dead on,

"I _never_ go back on my word."

"For your sake, you better be right…" one crone said gravely and just like that, the two vanished into thin air, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

The man turned from where the crones once stood and faced his servants of darkness his strange brown eyes ominously.

_Let the hunt begin…_

* * *

_**So this was the prologue. Sorry for the lack of Hellboy but he will be in the next chapter. Please review and let me know if it's good or what I need to work on.**_

_**Also, I'm requesting a Beta-Reader for this story, someone with good writing skills and of course very knowledgeable in the Hellboy universe. So it's available if anyone's interested. **_


	2. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Hellboy or the characters and story belongs to Mike Mignola and Dark Horse (and some to Christopher Golden and Guillermo del Toro). The original characters and story plot do belong to me. _**

**_Oh man… I worked and rewrote this chapter so many times, I'm not very good describing action scenes but I'm going to do my best. Please let me know what you readers think, I'll probably rework this chapter later._**

**_So here's an early Christmas present and I wanted post this chapter on Hellboy's "birthday" who would've been 68 but he "died" last year. I read "The Storm and The Fury" and I was so sad that Mignola "killed" Hellboy but he's supposed to make a new Hellboy series where Hellboy travels through Hell, so I'm a little excited. _**

**_Well here's what I promised, Hellboy and some action in this chapter so enjoy!_**

* * *

**_October 30, 1997_**

**_Somewhere deep in the bayou, about 50 miles from New Orleans. 8:00 pm. _**

Hellboy guided the airboat through the swamp – he's amazed that this old thing hadn't sank given his size – and damn made sure that the engine propeller didn't get caught in the trees that had fallen in. In his left hand was a skeletal hand pointing in a direction he was going, and his massive right hand on the lever that steered the boat. He had to go carefully due to the fact that it was really dark around here and his only source of light was the spotlight on the airboat, and the full moon – which was the same color as his skin for tonight. The last thing Hellboy wanted was to get stuck in this swamp infested with alligators.

He was to located the bones of Marie Laveau – the Voodoo Queen – and return them to her grave. Marie Laveau was once a powerful voodoo priestess in her lifetime and after her spirit left her body, her power remained with her body and increased tenfold. Demons and even humans would raid her grave to obtain a piece of her skeleton and in order to possess a portion of her power. Because of that, her grave was heavily sealed and under constant guard. Over the years, the legend of the Voodoo Queen and her gravesite became a popular site for tourists – almost rivaling Elvis's.

Now Hellboy loved New Orleans – the Mardi Gras, the Jazz Fest, the Cajun cooking', the French Quarter, and so much more – but business always came before pleasure. But being deep in the Louisiana's bayous was not how he wanted this trip to go, but beggars can't be choosers.

For now he just continued steering the boat and just hoped that the ride would be smooth sailing…

…But things never wanted to go his way.

As Hellboy moved through a tree, the propeller got caught on an unseen tree branch which promptly halted the boat.

"Aw crap." The one thing he didn't want and it happened; _someone _must really not like him today.

Hellboy set the skeletal hand down and made his way to where the engine was. He was trying to keep his balance and not fall into the murky waters. If someone was with him, they would probably laugh their ass off on how ridiculous he looks right now – thankfully he went solo.

For this type a case, his friend Abe would've assist him but he and Liz had an assignment in New Zealand dealing with some kind of sea creature called a taniwha or something. Hellboy bet they had an easier time over there than he was here.

_Lucky bastards _He chuckled as he tried to untangle the branch and algae from the propeller, a very delicate situation mind you, and Hellboy doesn't do delicate. Period.

A sound of rattling broke his train of thought. The skeletal hand was trembling like a fish out water – Hellboy silently laughed for he knew Abe probably wouldn't like the choice of words– as if it was alive. He was given these bones by the descendent of the Voodoo Queen – who also happened to be a good friend of Hellboy's and would often visit her every time he had a case in Louisiana. She told Hellboy that Laveau's skeletal hand will act as a compass for her bones, for all the bones want is to rest in peace.

The fact that the hand was shaking erratically told him that it was not a good sign…

"That's not good…" Is what he said before something collided into the boat very hard and knocked Hellboy in the murky water. The next thing he knew, he was being dragged underwater by the tail by something big and then slammed into a boulder – knocking some of the air out of him - and pinned against it.

Despite the dark, muddy water, Hellboy was able to get a look at the culprit. It was a large alligator but not just any old alligator: this one was bipedal and Hellboy had to guess it was bigger than him. The gator had glowing amber eyes and around its neck was a skull that's eye sockets also shone the same as the gator's eyes.

It opened its jaws and fixed to take a bite on Hellboy, but only to take a bite out of his stone hand. With the gator distracted, Hellboy gave him a good hard punch with his left which got the gator off of him and he swam up the surface. Hellboy took a mouthful of breathes before being dragged underwater again.

The gator tackled him to the bottom and then thrashed him hard with its tail trying to get Hellboy disoriented. It opened its jaws again for a second attempt but again Hellboy blocked it with his right hand. With its jaws still latched on Hellboy's right hand, he latched onto it so it wouldn't escape and released a barrel of punches from his left hand until the gator was dazed. After it opened its jaws, Hellboy let go of it and with it just floating there, Hellboy reached from the skull around its neck but it caught on what he was doing and kicked him up to the surface.

Hellboy then swam to a large fallen tree and climbed it so he wouldn't have to keep fighting the gator underwater. As he viewed his surroundings, it was too dark to locate the gator despite the glowing skull.

"Great, just great…" He muttered.

Just then he felt something grab his ankle and Hellboy braced himself for another assault, but when he looked down it was the skeletal hand he had earlier. It let go of his ankle and made a beckoning gesture to pick it up. Now Hellboy has seen some weird things in his life, but a skeleton hand from a voodoo priestess with a mind of its own just added another notch. He picked up the forearm and the hand pointed to a certain area in the river and moved along its target.

He'd nearly forgotten about that hand – he was fighting off a demon alligator after all – and with that he had an idea…

"Come here you walking suitcase, I'll give you something to chew on." He taunted hoping that the gator would take the bait.

And it did. It launched itself out of the water with a hissing growl toward Hellboy, but Hellboy sidestepped and grabbed it by the tail.

"Time for you to get out!" He said as he spun the gator and hurled him to the shore. Now that he had it on dry land, Hellboy can now turn the tables and put the hurt on it. As he got onto the shore, the gator stood on two legs – making him about 10 feet tall – and its eyes and the skull's socket's glowed brightly and ominously. Hellboy could now see it had the rest of the bones decorated as some sort of sick jewelry.

The gator dashed forward but instead of attacking Hellboy, it was heading back into the water. Not about to let it get back in its element, Hellboy grabbed the tail again, "Where do you think you're going?" and threw it into a tree. Hellboy pulled out his Good Samaritan – he was glad that it didn't get lost in the swamp – and started shooting at the gator as it got up. After taking a shot or two, it let out a hissing growl and ran into the woods.

Growling himself, Hellboy ran after it and after a few hundred feet, the 10-foot demon gator vanished.

"What the hell–" he muttered as he quickly scanned the area, but something bright caught the corner of his eye and a glowing fireball hurled toward him.

"Aw cra–oof!" And Hellboy was knocked hard into a tree his chest steaming from the fiery mass. He got up and saw the gator levitating some boulders and then setting it aflame for another attack.

"Screw this!" Hellboy said as he yanked the tree he was knocked into and hit the incoming flaming projectiles like a baseball bat. He then used the tree as a battering ram and tackled the gator. Hellboy held it by the throat with his right hand and it growled and clawed futility to get away.

"Ah shut up." He said and yanked the skull from its makeshift necklace and the demon gator let out an unearthly growl and then disintegrated.

"Later gator…" Hellboy said nonchalantly as he gathered the bones and made his way back to New Orleans.

* * *

"Ah take it everyding went well?" A thick and feminine Cajun accent filled his ears as he walked into the voodoo shop.

"Yeah, we had a little disagreement, but I was able to persuade him to see things my way," Hellboy said amusingly as if his brawl with the demon alligator was a simple coffee meeting with a business client. He may have some battle wounds – though they'll heal in good time – he just shrugged it off as if it was nothing. Part of his charm.

"You should've seen him Annie, 10 feet tall with glowing eyes; he would've made a nice luggage set."

Annie chuckled at Hellboy's description of the culprit. Anne Marie Laveau was a creole woman who owned the voodoo shop in New Orleans and the tour guide of Marie Laveau's grave. Now most people think that Annie's surname was just a gimmick to attract more tourists but in reality, she really is descended from the Voodoo Queen. After Marie Laveau II, there were no other children or descendants and people thought that the line ended there; but Marie Laveau II did have a daughter and she had a daughter (rinse, repeat) and they never married. Now Annie Marie and her 20-year old daughter Leah Marie were the remaining descendants – though the latter wasn't really into the voodoo like her mother.

When most meet Annie, they think she's just a little out there but in Hellboy's eyes, Annie was very lovely for a woman in her forties (tall with shoulder-length, curly dark brown hair, kind dark brown eyes, and smooth skin), but he only considered her as a friend, plus she had a beau of her own. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her love life.

"So where is she?" Annie asked and Hellboy brought the bag of bones on the counter.

"I would say 'she's good as new' but considering she's not so new, she's as good as she was when she died."

Annie chuckled mirthfully and gazed into the bag, finally her ancestor could rest in peace for that was Marie Laveau's curse: she could never have an eternal rest and when taken from her grave, she'll never be put to rest unless all of her was in the grave.

Annie then looked at Hellboy with a smile, but her eyes didn't match it, "Ah hate ta cut dis meeting short sugah, but ah need ta get my beauty sleep. Ah have ta put her back in her grave before the first tour, 'No rest for de wicked' as dey say."

Hellboy hated his friendly meetings cut short, but Annie was right. He wanted to spend Devil's Night here but he had a ticket back to Connecticut with his name on it. Oh well, maybe he'll find something to do back in Connecticut. He really didn't want to spend tonight at the Bureau.

"Where have I heard that line before?" He joked, "But anyway, it was nice seeing you again Annie maybe next time we can chat over coffee and your famous beignets. Take care now." He waved his right hand at her and made his way toward the door.

"Before you go, ah have a fortune for you…" Her words stopped him short. Though was a tone of amusement in her part, it was quite the opposite for Hellboy.

"Annie…"Hellboy started, a hint of frustration in his voice, but she cut him off,

"Trust me, you'll like dis," She insisted. Because of her lineage of the Voodoo Queen, Annie possessed psychic abilities that she often used to attract tourist. Hellboy really didn't like psychics but Annie was one of the few (and I mean **_few_**) that he could tolerate. Sometimes…

"Ah see love in your life…" Hellboy scoffed at this, but she paid no heed, "You will meet an old friend in rad dat will change your life forever." She said while staring straight into his eyes to see his reaction. Not many people could keep eye contact with him but he knew Annie for several years.

"Is that all?" He chuckled to her fortune-telling. "I already met her, goes by Luna, and she's as bright red as me though that'll be gone by the next phase." He joked and pointed his thumb toward the window where the hunter's moon glowed over the city.

"Not da moon, I mean a person–."

"Maybe in another lifetime," Hellboy turned away from Annie so she couldn't see his expression, "But because of who and what I am, there's no room for anyone… Take care Annie" He said and solemnly left the shop.

"Not for long sugah…" Annie said shrewdly after the door closed.

* * *

**_Whew finally done… It amazes me about the power of motivation. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and let me know what you think. I'll probably go back and tweak the chapters later. _**

**_I hoped I got Hellboy right, I know his character in my head but sometimes the words don't match what's in my head so I'm hoping got him in character. _**

**_I had some debate on what the case was going to be at in this chapter, my previous idea was in Africa with Hellboy dealing with were-hyenas; but then my parents were talking about New Orleans and I really wanted to go there because it's such a cool place. I was also fascinated with the folklore in Louisiana and Marie Laveau so I wanted to take a shot at that. I originally planned Hellboy fighting a rougarou but then I changed my mind and decided on a demon alligator because one: alligators and swamps go well and two: the wisecracks about the gator were the only things I could image Hellboy saying. _**

**_I was a challenge of typing Annie's dialect but I had fun with it and had fun creating the conversation between Hellboy and Annie. I hope I didn't offend anyone who was Cajun or from Louisiana. _**

**_Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope everyone had a good year and will continue have a good year in 2013!_**


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